The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in the Western
Cape has welcomed the decision by the Western Cape High Court to set aside the
findings of an inquest into the death of anti-apartheid activist Imam Abdullah
Haron in September 1969.
PHOTO - Mitchum George: Wall painting of Iman Abdullah Haron at Salt River Community House
In the findings of the re-opened 197 inquest, the court
found that the death of Imam Abdullah Haron was caused by the cumulative effect
of injuries under torture, in particular a combination of severe systematic
psychological stresses, including crush injury syndrome precipitated by
complications of bunt soft tissue injury, with the possibility of a
pre-existing coronary artery disease as a contributing factor.
In its ruling on Monday, the high court said for the past
54 years, the imam’s family, friends and comrades in the anti-apartheid
struggle had never accepted the findings of the magistrate.
Judge Daniel Thulare found Haron's death was attributable
to the cumulative effect of injuries under torture.
The court also held the then Security Branch of SAP members
responsible for the acts and omissions leading directly to his death. It held
Lieutenant Colonel Carel Johannes Freysen Pienaar, Major Dirk Kotze Genis,
Major Kotze, Captain, Ebanis Jogiemus Johannes Geldenhuys, Sergeant Johannes
Petrus Francois ‘Spyker’ van Wyk and Sergent Andries van Wyk as responsible for
Imam Haron’s death.
The court ordered the Registrar of the Court to submit the
record to the officer of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Western Cape,
without delay. It referred the role played by Johannes Hendrik Hanekom Burger,
Sergeant Petrus Jacobus Rademeyer, Captain Louis Malan Sergeant Smit, and
Prosecutor JS van Graan to the Director of Public Prosecutions, Western Cape,
for a decision.
The NPA said it was requested to reopen the inquest on 1
September 2021. It approached Justice &
Correctional services Minister, Ronald Lamola, and successfully applied for the
reopening of the inquest in March 2022. A presiding officer was appointed on 30
May 2022, and proceedings in terms of the Inquest Act commenced in November.
‘’Following his arrest, he spent 123 days in detention
which comprised 75 nights at Caledon Square Police Station and 45 nights at
Maitland Police Station except for the two nights between 17 and 19 September
1969, where his whereabouts were unknown. He spent about four months in
solitary confinement and was tortured most of the time while in detention. During the hearing, State Adv Lifa Matyobeni
and Adv Deidre Julius argued that Genis and Spyker, members of the notorious
Special Branch, conducted most of the interrogations, which generally started
at 8h00, with a lunch break at 13h00 and then continued until 16h30. Sometimes
interrogations would continue for longer, even until the early morning
(midnight),’’ said Eric Ntabazalila, NPA Western Cape spokesperson.
‘’During his detention, he complained of chest pain,
stomach pains, broken ribs, and bruises on his body. The interrogators told the
inquest that he fell off the stairs at the Caledon Police Station. They denied
being responsible for his fall and claimed he fell on his back bruising his
buttocks.’’
‘’Senior State Pathologist and Head of Pathology Services
at the state pathology laboratory in Cape Town, Dr Theodor Gottfried Schwar,
conducted a postmortem examination on 28 September 1969, after the body was
identified to him by Col Pienaar and Warrant Officer Blake at the Salt River
Mortuary. He later compiled a postmortem report. The postmortem examination was
conducted in the presence of Dr E Slobedman, a private pathologist from Cape
Town. He concluded the cause of death was myocardial ischemia which was the
decreased blood flow to the heart muscle due to narrowing coronary absorption,’’
added Ntabazalila,
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PHOTO - Mitchum George: Wall painting of Iman Abdullah Haron at Salt River Community House
Western Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, Nicolette
Bell, welcomed the judgment which she said was the result of the NPA’s
commitment to pursuing priority Truth and Reconciliation Commission cases.
Ntabazalila said over the past few years, the NPA and the
Hawks had focused on enhancing capacity and streamlining processes to ensure
effective handling of TRC cases and reopening and pursuing priority cases.
“Sixteen prosecutors and 39 [Hawks] investigators have been
appointed within the various divisions to deal exclusively with TRC matters, to
work with families, and to investigate cases, inter alia, of murder, torture
and disappearances.”
He said there are 135 matters currently under
investigation.
‘’In some cases, prosecutions had begun. In others,
inquests were being held or even re-held to establish the circumstances of, and
responsibility for, these deaths. The effluxion of time poses many challenges
in the investigation of these matters. But time is not on our side, and we must
continue to strive for justice,” said Eric Ntabazalila, NPA Western Cape
spokesperson.
Done By: Mitchum George
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